Knights in full plate armour lined up at the southern end of the Starblessed Valley. King Edwein cast his gaze over the far end as his horse trotted forward. ‘There should be some resistance by now.’ With no sign of resistance from the hidden Valdic tribe, the King gave the order to march onward. ‘Perhaps they really are legends. If people lived here we should have known about it.’ He shook his head in resignation. ‘Our God has asked this of us, so I can’t disappoint him.’
Edwein’s gaze flickered to the God in golden and silver armour to his left. However, Arthur only returned a gentle smile in his direction. Edwein felt encouraged by Arthur’s presence as he led his troops further into the valley.
His eyes caught sight of what appeared to be the homes of an ancient civilisation carved into the rocks on either side of the valley. ‘How is it possible for a place like this to exist, but we have no records of it?’ “Your Majesty, there are movements among some of those buildings.” A knight whispered to Edwein as he gestured to their left.
“Deploy the archers to the left flank and have the cavalry ready to provide support,” Edwein responded as he glanced with little interest at the buildings. ‘Our job is to make the locals and any gods focus on us while Arthur reaches his goal.’
Moments later, barbarians rushed in from both sides. Arrows were loosed to the left as the cavalry turned to charge to the right. ‘It seems Arthur was right. People are living here.’ Edwein groaned as he prepared for battle.
“Mordread, Morgana, you two support the king and his troops. I’m going on ahead.” Arthur grinned as he took off at a sprint, leaving the siblings behind with ugly expressions on their faces. ‘They should be able to win.’ Arthur sighed as he bolted through the valley. A huge temple carved into the stone appeared in the distance. ‘That should be the place. I don’t know where you went, Merlin. Or what you’re up to. But I’ll be ready for it.’
Arthur felt the presence of a god descending in front of the temple. ‘Seems it won’t be as easy as I thought.’ He sighed as he slowed his pace and drew his sword. ‘I don’t recognise this player.’
Arthur calmly studied his opponent who wore ragged furs and leather while carrying a thick wooden club. Despite his appearance, Arthur calmly evaluated the player’s level to be close to his own.
“I’m Arthur, King of the Camelot Pantheon. Who are you?”
His opponent remained silent as he studied Arthur. The sun glinted off his ebony skin where it was exposed. ‘Not the talkative type.’ Arthur groaned. He had hoped to solve this with dialogue, but the other party appeared unwilling.
“I’m entering the temple. Please, don’t try to stop me.”
Arthur kept a friendly expression as he approached the unmoving player. When he was within striking distance, the player still did not move. ‘Is he really going to allow me to enter?’
However, as Arthur a step beyond the mysterious player, a powerful force struck his gut, sending him flying backwards. Arthur’s eyes widened as he caught the player slowly returning his club to its previous position!
‘I couldn’t see a damn thing!’ Arthur grunted as he slammed and bounced off the ground. As he recovered, he realised the player wasn’t pursuing him. ‘Why?’
It was the perfect opportunity for a follow-up. ‘Is he more interested in protecting the temple?’ Arthur frowned as he realised the player had no ambition to defeat him. Only to prevent him from gaining the power inside the temple.
He quickly checked the battle log to get the player’s name. [Unknown]
‘What the fuck?’ Arthur’s mind drew a blank as he stared at the player in the distance. ‘Who is he?’
Arthur took a deep breath to calm his mind before activating several spells at once. His speed, strength, and endurance greatly rose as he burst forward. He was sure the sudden burst should catch the player off guard, but as he attempted to pass him again, he saw the club swinging.
“Aaargh!” Arthur roared as he intercepted the club with his blade.
His feet slid backwards as the club applied pressure to his weapon. ‘At least I wasn’t blown away this time!’ Arthur lunged with a feint, but the player ignored it and drove a punch into Arthur’s jaw!
The latter’s head bounced off the ground before a swift kick caught his ribs, sending him some distance back again. ‘What the hell is going on?’ He felt weakness seep into his body. Everything felt heavier than before.
[Unknown has sealed Divine Spells Arm of Justice, Bulwark of Peace, Swift Judgement]
Arthur’s eyes went wide as he attempted to cast those spells again, but they failed. ‘A sealing ability? This guy can prevent others from using their spells?’ Arthur trembled at such an overwhelming ability.
‘There must be limitations on it. His first strike didn’t do anything. So does it only work on active spells?’ Whatever the case was, it was clear he was facing a troublesome opponent. ‘It doesn’t say anything about how long the seal lasts for. Do I need to defeat him to lift it?’
Arthurn’s expression settled into a stern one as he prepared a lunge brimming with divine energy. However, his sharp eyes caught the slight sigh that escaped his opponent’s mouth. ‘Why does he seem disappointed?’
A moment later, a beam of divine energy fired from his blade. His opponent shook his head before punching the spell as if it were nothing.
[Unknown has sealed Divine Lunge]
Arthur’s expression turned dark as another ability became of no use to him. ‘I feel like I’m missing something.’ His opponent had never gone on the offensive except to stop him from moving beyond his position. Although he had retaliated, he had only sealed Arthur’s abilities but showed no bloodlust. It almost seemed like the strange player was waiting for something. Arthur slowly sheathed his sword and approached the man until he was standing in front of him.
“What do I need to do to enter?”
The tall man smiled at Arthur’s question. “You must defeat me in a duel. But no spells are allowed. You must agree to have one of my spells cast on you that will make our stats equal.”
Arthur frowned at this statement. ‘A fair trial of skill?’ It was almost unbelievable, but then he considered the nature of the prize he sought. I see, so that’s what’s going on.
“You’re a will, aren’t you? May I have the pleasure of learning your name?”
“Hahaha, you figured that out rather quickly.” The man replied as tusks grew from his bottom jaw and four more arms appeared. “I am Jin’da. God of the Ebony Orcs, Elden, and Sommerdanians. Fist of the First Star. Wielder of the Divine Scales.”
Jin’da’s eyes flashed with amusement as Arthur appeared unaffected by the Will’s titles. ‘This was the last wielder of the First Star. So I was right! One of its fragments is in there!’
“I accept.” Arthur declared confidently as his opponent tossed his club away. Jin’da’s six fists glowed with golden light as he performed six punches. Six golden chains exploded from his knuckles and slithered through the air to bind both Arthur and Jin’da. Arthur cocked an eyebrow in interest as he felt his stats rising.
‘These stats… They’re far beyond my level. How could I have misjudged him so badly?’ He became certain that Jin’da had been holding back on his speed and strength before when he knocked Arthur back.
Jin’da grinned as Arthur tried to take a step forward, but the latter’s eyes bulged when he ended up directly in front of Jin’da who pummelled him with three fists. “Why would you go at full speed when you have no idea how powerful the divinity I granted you is?” Jin’da chuckled at Arthur’s reckless move.
‘I see. I’m not used to these stats, and they give a greater boost than I expected.’ Arthur groaned as he slid backwards before diving forward with an upwards slash. Jin’da frowned as Arthur’s judgement appeared spot on. The tip of his blade narrowly missed Jin’da’s eyes as he tilted his head to the side.
Jin’da’s eyes narrowed as he threw several punches, only for Arthur to accurately react to and block them. A wide grin appeared on Jin’da’s face as he threw a flurry of blows. ‘This guy… He’s really something!’ Jin’da chuckled as Arthur danced around his attacks while throwing out accurate counterstrikes. ‘His mind is calm. He emanates a sense of justice and fairness. He fights for the sake of others!’
‘This is the heir I’ve been waiting for!’ Jin’da’s grin grew wider as he pressured Arthur with impossible attacks. The latter started to evade more often and throw out lunges in response to the openings created by the attacks. As the duel wore on, Jin’da realised he was now on the back foot. Arthur was slowly driving him back. ‘It’s monstrous how quickly he adjusted and made these stats his own.’ Jin’da sighed as felt a stabbing pain in his gut.
Arthur had succeeded in landing a direct hit against the Will of the Old God! ‘Excellent! Let’s see how far I can push you!’ Arthur frowned as Jin’da laughed maniacally. He felt a burst of pressure weigh down on him before his opponent vanished!
“What the?”
BOOM! Six fists slammed into Arthur’s back before he understood what had happened!